Toxic Tolerance
by AlertElaine
Summary: I really hoped what my friend told me was true and that I wasn't just wasting my time burning myself with the blood of some lizard. In the end I'll be getting my raptor, or he's going down.


Done as a school project. Our theme was: _When things get tough, you get tougher._

**Rating: T **- Becuase the death of a poor raptor. D:

**Summary:** I really hoped what my friend told me was true and that I wasn't just wasting my time burning myself with the blood of some lizard. In the end I'll be getting my raptor, or he's going down.

**Disclaimer: ****Warcraft****/World of Warcraft** obviously doesn't belong to me, or guess whose characters would be real ones?

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><p>"My goodness Tawny! Look! It's disgusting!" I complained, wrinkling my nose. I leant over the side of my flying windstrider, named Tawny, and watched as we soared over a green bogland. If I hadn't been searching for a certain person I'd never have even been here in the first place. My friend told me that there was a glorious quest that, in the end, would give me a gorgeous new pet I could ride. Yet now I felt repulsed, the itching temptation to turn around and escape this green wonderland was very tempting. "I knew Un'Goro Crater was a gross land, but I wasn't expecting this!"I exclaimed, as I wrinkled my nose in disgust. I eyed a moving sludge and shuddered, feeling repulsed.<p>

Tawny chirped in response, shaking his lion-like head in agreement. I nodded contently along with him when suddenly he jerked downwards. I shrieked in surprise and quickly twirled my fingers into his mane, tugging at the strands to prevent myself from being thrown off. Tawny cried back in surprise, almost as if he thought _I_ had known what _I_ was doing. He landed awkwardly onto the ground, skidding in the mud, and dragging me into it. I cried out, disgusted, and pulled myself back onto his lithe-feline body once he reached a complete stop. I heard a chuckle emitted into the air.

I looked up to see a hideous troll staring down on me, tall atop his famous raptor. I huffed, _how dare he laugh at me!_ I wiped a puddle of mud off my armour, _thank goodness I'm wearing metal plate_, and ushered Tawny forwards toward him. The troll stared at me in amusement.

"Ya here for mi quest, right?" He asked. I nodded, "So mon, ya think ya ready? I don't think ya can stand de poison, but ya Blood Elves are hardier then ya look, eh?" he teased, a smile splayed across his face. I nodded, avoiding his gaze and extending my hand.

"Just hand me the quest, troll. I don't have all day." I sneered. His smile dimmed slightly and he handed me a sheet of paper. I hastily grabbed it and examined it.

"Ya not be mockin' us, ya magic addicted toad." I looked up sharply, glaring, "Mi need ya to get hit wit' de blood of de dinosaurs ya see ova' dere. De darker ones, not dem pinke ones ya see. Dey don't got de same poison blood ya see. Dey'll be just up north." He said, running a hand through his ginger hair, "Ya be watchin' out now mon."

I looked in the directions he had suggested and quickly escaped, trying to forget the fact that a lowly troll had seen me stumble and fall. I sighed, patting Tawny's head, and kicked him in the lightly to get him to start up. He began to purr and swish his scorpion tail contently before jerking up in to the air, lifting his paws up and letting his wings stretch out. I lent down onto his back, making sure my fingers were latched tightly to the reins he was wearing and began to chatter aimlessly.

"Oh, Tawny, I don't get how Trolls can speak with those ugly tusks in the way. They must be horrid, sticking out of their gums like that! I suppose that is their only redeeming feature, Trolls are horridly disgusting. Especially the girls, how they even get dates is unknown to me!" I sighed, "It's so tiresome being gorgeous." I ran a hand through my elegant red hair.

I let my hand travel down to Tawny's face and I rubbed his cheek in little circles. He chirped, melting into my hand and rubbing his face along my palm. I smiled lightly, letting my eyes trail back down to the ground. There were many pink raptors roaming on the ground and I sighed in defeat. When would the raptor I needed show up? A black figure passed by on the ground and I shot up in my seat, jerking around to look at what it was.

"Was that…?" I exclaimed, squinting my eyes. I happily shrieked, "It is! Look! It's the raptor! Go to it Tawny!" I pointed to where I had seen it and tugged at the reins towards it. Tawny squirmed underneath me and pulled a U-Turn, landing a few feet from where the beast was roaming. I jumped off quickly, shaking myself before strutting over to it.

The raptor didn't seem all that scary, its yellow eyes blinking innocently as it scuttled around. It swung its head around to look at me, and then looked away uninterested. I took my sword out of its sheath, aimed it at the black striped raptor's chest, and slashed it downwards in a solid and fluid downward motion. The raptor's eyes widened slightly, staring at me in fear before toppling over. I watched it fall and reminded myself of how much stronger I was compared to these guys.

"Now, time to get the blood on me!" I said as I approached it. I crouched down beside it and poked it slightly, the venomous fumes rolling over the raptor made me light-headed. _'How should I do this?'_ I wondered, _'Maybe I should touch it…' _Not sure how to do it, I just shrugged and reached down to the growing puddle of green blood. I poked the surface gently, hoping I could just do that a couple times and return back to the gross troll.

That wasn't the case. A raging flare of pain shot up my finger and into my hand, forcing a yelp out of me. I snatched my hand away but the rampaging pain never ceased, the pain equal to about a million daggers gouging into my poor finger mercilessly, or what I thought that would feel like. Tears welled up in my eyes and I tried to bite them back, hand pressed up against my armour with my other hand wrapped around that. That would be something I wouldn't try again. Tawny looked at me and whined, stepping towards me. I shook my head, gritting my teeth. He whined once more but didn't move towards me.

When the pain began to dull into a slow throbbing, I uncurled my undamaged hand free and thought up a new plan. Somehow I needed to get poisoned and my friend had told me the blood was the best way to do so. I reached into my pocket and plucked out the quest details the troll had given me to see if he had given me any tips. I fumbled to uncurl it with one hand and finally managed to open it minutes later.

_[ __**Toxic Tolerance.**_

_So, traveler, you think you can ride a Venomhide raptor, do you? Well, I've got bad news._

_Venomhide Raptors are highly venomous, they're literally made of poison from their skin to their blood. Spending a few hours with it will result in certain death._

_You would have to build up a resistance to it, the best way being splashed by their blood many, many times. Twenty should be sufficient enough. If you think you are up to it they prefer the northern marshlands, just north-west of here._

_-Mor'vek]_

I grumbled, with no extra clues hidden in the text I was all on my own. I looked up to Tawny and he chirped back to me, waving his tail behind him. I stroked my chin wondering what I could do when suddenly I gasped, watching his tail flick back and forth. Scorpions had venom in their tail, right? Tawny would too!

"I know! Tawny, if you're used to venom, this shouldn't be a problem, right?" I exclaimed happily, motioning to his scorpion tail. Tawny blinked at me in confusion before looking down to the raptor corpse. He took a step towards it before looking back at me and I nodded, beckoning him forward and pointing to the raptor. He looked at me warily and then inched closer to the raptor. He took a quick sniff of it before rearing backwards and squealing. His fur puffed up in all directions and he flattened his ears.

"Tawny?" I asked, peering at my scared pet. He whined in response, looking back at me with eyes the size of saucers. I sighed, wondering what I could do. I couldn't ask my friend for help, that would be putting my pride on the line. Instead I suppose I would have to stick my finger down back in the puddle. I shuddered at the thought, wondering if there was an easier way then that.

"Hey there Aethia!" a voice sounded in my head. I jumped, startled by the voice of my friend whispering to me through our walk talky clip I had pinned my hair. _Speak of the devil! _I lifted my hand up to my hair to press the talk button.

"O-Oh, hello Desmutes." I replied back.

"Whatcha up too?" he asked.

"Oh, just doing the quest you mentioned." I told him. I bit my lip, should I ask him for help? But I couldn't! That would be the equivalent to a samurai committing seppuku!

"Ah, sounds like fun. Almost done there? We can do a dungeon together!" he asked excitedly. I could imagine him now, clenching his axe, eager to go and beat up some spiders inside Ahn'kahet.

"Nah, this is taking me a bit." I told him, sighing.

"Did me too 'til I realized you had to take your armour off and hit them barehanded. Then it was a piece of cake." He chuckled. My eyes widened and I cringed,

"What! You have to take off your clothes?" I shrieked, blanching. If just sticking my finger into that puddle was bad, then this would be awful. I cringed at the thought, eyes widening,

"Nah, just the armour. The bonuses from them make you too overpowered for them. They're better alive then dead, didn't you know that?" he asked, suspicion lacing his voice. I growled, clenching my hand in defiance,

"Of course I did!" I lied smoothly, "It just sounds weird coming from _you_. I'll, er, see you soon?" I quickly turned off my clip and glanced around for another raptor. I quickly removed my metal chest plate, slipped out of my chain pants and finally wiggled out of my boots. I shivered when an especially cold wind brushed my skin, feeling extremely awkward. I folded my armour into my bag and put my sword and shield just on top. Standing in my undergarments I was ready to attack any raptor that dare approach me.

I led Tawny over to another black raptor and swallowed, staring at it. It was a lot scarier when you were practically naked, their pointed teeth seemed pre-sharpened and their claws looked like they could rip through flesh easily. I shuddered, wondering if this raptor had done that to an unfortunate traveler beforehand. I charged towards it and lifted my fists in front of my face, cringing as I tried not to think about the fact my armour was tucked inside my bag.

I struck the black beast in the face, enraging it and making it spin around to face me completely. It growled and exposing it's dripping fangs, instantly making me regret I had ever challenged it. My face blanched, my knees felt weak and I hit it in fear of being mauled. It growled and slashed a claw into my arm. I kicked it in the chest and it let out a grunt of pain as courage began to fill me, I could do this!

A claw raked down my exposed belly and I gasped, flinching in shock. I shuddered in pain and aimed another punch at its swollen snout but instead it spun around, expecting my attack, and slapped me with its tail. I flew to the ground, sliding in the mud slightly and lifted my arm into the air to shield myself from the rampaging raptor. It bent down and bit into my arm, swallowing my entire hand into its mouth. I gasped, looking at it.

I was going to lose my arm! This was worse than hurt done to my pride, instead it would be my actual beauty fading from my grasp. An ugly Blood Elf? I'd be a disgrace, an outcast! I cried out, fury filling my veins. How dare a pitiful raptor, one of which I could cut down within seconds, try to take my hand! I tugged my arm backwards and used my free hand to smash my fist into its jaw.

It let go, a tooth tumbling out of its socket. A green drop of blood splashed down onto my hand and I shrieked, expecting the pain equal to a barrage of stampeding elephants but instead only a painful throb pulsed from my hand. It hurt, but it was bearable. I felt strength flow through me and looked back to the raptor and aimed another punch. shriek

A cut on it's face began to weep and I began to pound the poor raptor down near it, opening it up further and further. "_That was for biting my hand you stupid lizard!" _I shrieked as another splash of green blood hit me, bathing me in green venomous ooze. "_That was for making me bleed!" _I cried, another splash of the stuff spurted onto me_. "And that was for the extensive plastic surgery I will be needing to make myself perfect again!"_ The raptor shuddered as I screeched my last outburst, crying out as it fell down to its utter demise.

I panted, watching it lay on the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief and smirked in triumph. I turned to look at Tawny and he whined before flicking his tail at me. I looked down in confusion, coated from head to toe in the green liquid. I shrieked,

"Tawny~! I'm gonna die! I look horrible! I'll never be beautiful again!" I cried out dramatically, draping my hand over my face. Tawny chirped in displeasure, literally rolling his eyes at my stereotypical Blood Elf antics. I quickly whipped over to my backpack and threw my armour out, pulling out a towel and began to wipe myself down, ridding myself of the disgusting ooze-like substance. Once I was rubbed red, I threw the towel to the side, and began to slip my armour back on. I sighed, feeling comfortable back in the metal plate,

"Well, Tawny, It's time to head back. Time to show that stupid troll what a gorgeous Blood Elf can do!" I exclaimed, roughly hopping atop his back. He cried out slightly, surprised by the action and jumped up in the air. I held tight to the reins on him and urged him back to the troll. His eyes widened when he saw us approach,

"You be back, mon." the troll said, his eyes following me as Tawny landed to the ground. I nodded trimuphly, smirking.

"But of course! I was hit twenty times exactly!" I exclaimed, hopping off of Tawny and strutting up to Mor'vek. I took the quest paper out of my backpack and handed it back to him. He took it from me, dazed.

"You be kiddin' mi. A Blood Elf like yerself-" He began before I interrupted,

"Just because I'm beautiful doesn't mean I can't do a simple thing like that." I snapped back, running my hand through my hair, "So, now the follow-up quest…"

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><p>"Megan!" a voice suddenly echoed into the air. I jumped, moving my headphones down to my neck I looked away from my computer screen and up to my mom. She stood at the top of the stairs and stared down over to me.<p>

"Yes…?" I asked as I blinked innocently at her. She stepped down into the basement and looked at my computer screen,

"Have you been playing World of Warcraft all afternoon again?" she asked. I smiled.

"Maybe…" I said sheepishly, turning the chair to face her. She smiled softly.

"Playing WoW all afternoon and after supper too? It's not good for you. Tomorrow we are going for a hike up the mountain to the University." She said. I groaned, knowing all too well that we would be "encountering a _true_ quest to see if I could make my mom sweat trying to keep up with me as I sprinted up the mountain," as she would say. She gave me one of her death stares; though secretly I knew she was laughing. I also knew she'd be true to her word.

"Why~!" I whined, turning back to my computer screen to start logging off of World of Warcraft. I brought up the menu, clicking the 'Exit Game' button and a 'Logging Out in: 20 seconds. [Exit Now?]' popped up onto the screen. I clicked 'Exit Now.'

"Because your mother said so." She commanded.

"But I don't wanna~!" I whined, fidgeting in my chair bashfully. Her eyebrows narrowed.

"Okay, fine, no computer for two days then..." She said contently, death threats implied by the tone of her voice and the blazing stare she was giving me.

"B-But!"I stammered, whipping my head around to look at her, whining. Quickly I turned around, willing for the log off process to speed up faster. I smiled nostalgically as I stared at the frozen screen where my character Aethia was kneeled on the ground, knowing next time she'd be riding a stunning new raptor.


End file.
